After carrying Frieren back to bed, Ash left the castle accompanied by Fern.
Before they reached the outside, however, he spotted a pink-haired girl leaning against a wall.
She wore luxurious clothes.
Her pink hair swayed lightly in the breeze.
There was a natural arrogance in her eyes.
It was Aura.
"Hmph! As expected, you wouldn't tell anyone when you were really leaving."
Aura looked at the two of them with her arms crossed, clearly unhappy. Then she glanced at Fern.
"Let me borrow this one for a bit."
"Of course."
Since Aura was Ash's younger sister, Fern naturally had no reason to refuse.
She gave a small nod and politely agreed, then silently stopped walking and followed behind them.
There was a trace of curiosity in her eyes as she wondered what kind of conversation these strange siblings would have.
"I really didn't expect you'd be waiting here for me."
Ash looked at the girl walking beside him in surprise.
After taking a closer look, he couldn't help but smile.
"But now that I really look at you, you've truly grown up over the years. This counts as being mature now, doesn't it?"
His tone was full of an older brother's care and satisfaction.
At least, that's what he thought.
Unfortunately, Aura only shot back coldly, "Don't flatter yourself. I was just bored."
"Sure~ Sure~"
He didn't expose her lie. Instead, he smiled and gently rubbed her head.
"While I'm gone, make sure you all get along."
"I'm not interested in humans."
Aura frowned and immediately slapped his hand away.
"Interested in demons instead?", Ash deliberately teased her, smiling slightly.
"No."
Aura answered cleanly and directly, looking completely unapproachable.
"You should develop some hobbies."
"What's your hobby?"
"Recently, I like teasing cute little kids."
Ash jokingly teased her, wanting to provoke the proud girl a little.
In return, Aura gave him a look full of disgust.
"I remember you saying before that you liked big sisters like me. Is this what men are like? Saying one thing and doing another."
"Don't twist the facts. Besides, other than..."
'Other than your chest, where exactly are you big?'
Ash felt that if he said that out loud, not only would Aura look down on him, even Fern wouldn't give him a good look.
So he quietly changed the subject.
"Forget it. Let's talk about something pleasant like before."
"I don't remember ever talking about anything pleasant with you."
Aura glanced at him sideways, obvious displeasure still in her eyes.
"That's harsh. I thought we got along pretty well when we were kids."
"You mean all the times you bullied me?"
Aura curled her lips, clearly not appreciating it.
Ash immediately corrected her.
"That was affection. Completely different."
"Want me to show you some affection now?"
"If you do it, that's insubordination!"
"Why? Can't I commit insubordination?"
"Of course not! It's a matter of seniority."
Ash explained seriously, "I'm the older brother. You have to respect me."
"Why does being the younger sister mean I have to get bullied?"
"I already told you, it's called affection. Completely different. I can show affection to you, and you have to respect me."
"Twisted logic... It's always like this."
Ash thought he was explaining things properly.
Unfortunately, Aura still looked annoyed.
Anyone who didn't know them would probably think they were enemies.
But if there really was hatred between them, Aura wouldn't have been waiting at the city gate early in the morning.
Still...
"Alright, alright. No need to see me off."
Smiling, Ash casually patted Aura's head, "If nothing unexpected happens, I should be back soon."
"Something unexpected should happen quickly. Then I'll turn the place where you died into my personal foot-washing pool."
"You..."
He wanted to complain that she still hadn't forgotten that childhood dream.
But after hesitating, he simply rubbed her head affectionately.
Unlike usual, he didn't tease her.
The sky outside was gradually brightening.
The edges of the dark heavens were being lit by the morning light.
The blizzard, however, showed no sign of stopping.
The wind howled, carrying countless snowflakes through the air, as if it wanted to cover the whole world in white.
Like the blizzard, the atmosphere of the final battle was becoming stronger and stronger.
A heavy feeling filled the air.
Yet even at the very end, Aura never managed to say any words of blessing or concern.
She simply stood there quietly.
A complicated look filled her eyes.
There was worry, reluctance, and a stubborn attempt to hide both.
As for Fern, if she could pray to a god, she had only one wish.
She hoped Ash would return safely.
That was all.
Just that simple and sincere wish.
Under Heiter's influence, she had developed a fair amount of faith.
But now the enemy was the Goddess herself, she didn't even know who she should pray to.
So she looked at Aura's somewhat troubled profile and quietly voiced her wish.
"I think everything will be fine. After all, it's Lord Ash."
Her voice was soft, as though she feared breaking the oppressive silence.
It was also as though she were giving herself something firm to believe in.
Even so, a shadow remained on her face.
Hearing her, Aura looked over expressionlessly.
"If I remember correctly, weren't you pretty devoted to the Goddess? Why not pray to her?"
Her tone was calm, yet seemed to contain a trace of provocation.
Perhaps she was using it to hide her own unease.
Or perhaps she simply didn't get along with Fern.
Since Ash had told her before that Aura's personality was a little awful and that she was extremely bad at being honest, Fern naturally didn't take it seriously.
She simply replied in a firm voice.
"When we first met, that person gave me kindness that I could never repay in my entire life. Because of that, no matter who dares to hurt Lord Ash, I absolutely won't forgive them."
"Heh~ Even if it's the Goddess?"
Aura raised an eyebrow slightly.
She seemed somewhat surprised by the answer.
At the same time, she seemed to understand it to some extent.
"Yes. If miracles really appeared just because people prayed, then everyone would pray. There wouldn't even be a turn for me. Tragedies wouldn't exist in this world either. I prayed back then too, but the one who saved me was Lord Ash, not the Goddess," Fern met Aura's examining gaze directly.
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in her eyes.
Aura fell silent for a moment before giving a slight nod, "He's a terrible person, yet the child he raised turned out surprisingly well... At least better than that rude Linie."
For once, there was a trace of approval in her voice.
Or perhaps, at this moment, the two of them had formed a subtle understanding because of their shared concern for Ash.
The blizzard continued raging.
Neither girl spoke again.
They simply watched the distant direction where the figure had already disappeared.
———
Ash traveled at supersonic speed.
Along the way, he used magical detection to scan every place he passed, searching for any suspicious target.
He crossed the blizzard and eventually arrived at the royal capital.
There, he reviewed the accumulated reports that had been unable to be sent out because communication had been disrupted by the storm.
Compared to the Empire farther north, the Kingdom of Oisast lay closer to the center of the continent.
As a result, it still received intelligence from many nations in the central and southern regions.
The kingdom's trump card, the Magic Knight Order, had already been dispatched.
They were scattered throughout the kingdom and even sent abroad as diplomatic missions, arresting those who refused to hand over Hero Swords.
During the process, not only had they encountered almost no resistance, but, standing nearby, the Chancellor opened a stack of organized reports and reported,
"Although a few people were unwilling to hand them over, after some pressure they still surrendered the swords and paid their fines. However, there was one area among the central nations where someone reportedly refused to hand over a Hero Sword and fled instead. The Magic Knight Order acting as a diplomatic mission is currently conducting a manhunt there with assistance from local soldiers."
"Bring me the map of that area. Also the escape route, method of escape, and all information on the target."
"Yes."
Although he couldn't understand why Ash was giving such an order, the Chancellor didn't ask questions.
He simply took out the documents that had already been prepared.
Ash only skimmed through them once before becoming nearly certain that this was his target.
By the time he arrived, the kingdom's intelligence organization had already put together information on the person's identity.
As for how they managed it so quickly in this era, the reason was simple.
The kingdom enforced a strict household registration system.
Following Ash's earlier orders, missing persons throughout the country had already been investigated.
When someone went missing, their parents naturally reported it to the kingdom's guards.
Based on physical descriptions, it was possible to determine that the target was a girl who had mysteriously disappeared from a village near the kingdom's border some time ago.
Such a suspicious target could naturally be identified as the possessed vessel.
Otherwise, why would an ordinary villager leave?
Especially a citizen of the Kingdom of Oisast.
People always fled from other countries to the prosperous kingdom.
Nobody ever fled from it.
Particularly in this era.
And she was only a village girl.
An ordinary village girl might never leave her village in her entire life.
At most, she would occasionally visit a nearby town.
Although she often helped at the church, she wasn't a member of the clergy.
She couldn't use magic and wasn't a warrior.
There was no way she could have left her village alone and traveled to another country.
There simply couldn't be a more suspicious target.
After understanding the route, Ash immediately stood up from the dragon throne.
Seeing this, the king seated below finally let out a sigh of relief.
Ash didn't pay any attention to him.
He quickly walked out of the audience chamber and vanished instantly.
"Ahem! Since Lord Ash has business elsewhere, let's continue with the remaining matters."
The Chancellor, who was effectively handling the kingdom's affairs, glanced at the king, who no longer held any real power, and quietly continued carrying out his duties.
Ash might be a demon.
But to him, that simply didn't matter.
At the very least, Ash was better than every previous king.
And he himself had been personally promoted by Ash.
His ambitions had been given room to flourish.
He couldn't find a reason to betray his benefactor.
Besides, he was under obedience magic and couldn't betray him anyway.
———
The harsh winter sealed off the northern lands.
The cold spread southward, covering most of the central continent.
Upon that snow-covered land, a girl carrying a Hero Sword on her back lived alone in a cabin within the forest.
However... While resting with her eyes closed, she could clearly hear hunters nearby deliberately lowering their footsteps.
By invading minds from afar and silently obtaining memories, she already knew the answer.
Although this was among the Central Lands, it was still within the reach of the Demon King's authority.
The local king didn't dare offend Ash.
At the request of the diplomatic mission, he was assisting with everything he had.
The armed mission had also issued a bounty.
One thousand gold coins for capturing or killing her.
Ten gold coins for verified and useful information.
One gold coin for providing her direction of escape.
As a result, almost the entire country, and even neighboring countries, were searching for her.
After all...
People would die for wealth, just as birds would die for food.
Nobody cared anymore who she really was or why the Kingdom of Oisast was hunting her so fiercely.
Because of this, whenever she passed through a town these past few days, people followed her.
From time to time, all sorts of people attempted assassinations.
Some were even children and elderly people.
"Utterly foolish. They're humans, yet they're letting a Demon King command them so easily over money."
Although she had not been injured and none of the schemes had succeeded, the feeling of being hunted wherever she went left the Goddess, who continuously sent power into this body, looking particularly displeased.
While using her divine power to remodel the body so it could eventually contain her true self, she rose with a dark expression and prepared to change hiding places once again.
This experience was unlike anything she had ever encountered.
It was difficult for her emotions to remain steady.
After all, most common people on this land worshipped her.
Yet there was no helping it.
A god descending into the mortal world only to be hunted by her own believers as a valuable target, anyone would have trouble remaining calm.
Fortunately, that instability did not last long.
Outside came the sound of large amounts of metal scraping against metal.
Groups of soldiers had surrounded the courtyard.
Leading them were over a dozen foreign knights clad in armor.
The knight captain at the front swung his sword from far away.
A formless slash shot forward.
With a slicing sound, it split the entire cabin into two as easily as a hot knife cutting butter.
The shockwave pushed the two halves apart.
Through his fully enclosed helmet, the captain shouted coldly at the girl standing inside.
"Surrender, witch who has laid hands on the Hero's Sword!"
"Foolish. Evil helpers."
The young girl appeared ordinary at first glance.
Yet the faint divine authority radiating from her proved she was something beyond mortal.
She looked at the captain with clear displeasure.
"Do you know who the ruler you serve truly is? No, you're from his direct forces. You know. Why?"
"There is no why! And the kingdom doesn't need someone pretending to be the Hero telling us what to do."
"Perhaps I am the true Hero?"
"So what? Anyone who refuses the king's orders will be executed!"
Whether she was the real Hero or not meant nothing to the captain.
Expressionless, he delivered his final warning.
"I know you're unusual. But opposing Ash means opposing the entire world. You have no chance of winning."
"Leave, foolish human."
The girl holding the Hero Sword did not charge into the enemy ranks and slaughter all the knights and soldiers.
She simply drew the Hero Sword and swung it.
At that instant, a dazzling light burst from the blade like lightning splitting the darkness.
Where the light passed, the air itself seemed to tear apart, releasing a sharp howl.
Then—
BOOM!!
The explosion and shockwave erupted almost simultaneously.
The sound was like thunder crashing down from the heavens.
The force spread outward from the girl in every direction.
Snow surged upward like waves, forming a massive white curtain.
The remains of the cabin instantly turned to dust.
Not even fragments remained.
The thick snow outside was completely blown away, resembling a sudden blizzard.
The soldiers surrounding the courtyard panicked at the sudden change.
Some standing too close were sent flying by the shockwave and screamed through the air.
"That bastard! She's actually got some skill!"
The knight captain had also been blown away.
The moment he landed, he steadied himself and prepared to gather his men for a costly frontal assault.
But Ash suddenly appeared.
He stepped in front of the captain and raised a hand to stop him.
"Stand down. Leave the rest to me. Go clear out anyone nearby who might come running over. If you can't take them away, don't worry about it. Just retreat first."
"Understood."
The moment he recognized Ash, the knight captain said nothing further.
He simply obeyed and withdrew with his men.
In the wrecked battlefield, only two people remained.
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